Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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-It includes within its scope the process of making of laws , of breaking of laws , and the
society’s reaction towards the breaking of laws.”
Criminology is a body of knowledge regarding crimes, criminals and the efforts of society to
prevent and repress them.
the scientific study of the causes of crime in relation to man and society who set and
define rules and regulations for himself and others to govern
Criminologist (R. 6506) - any person who is a graduate of the Degree of Criminology, who
has passed the examination for criminologists and is registered as such by the Board of
Examiners of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
Etymologically, the term criminology came from the Latin word “crimen” meaning
crime and Greek word “Logos” which means “to study”.
In 1885, Rafael Garofalo , an Italian Law Professor coined the term criminologia.
In 1889, Paul Topinard , French Anthropologist, used the term criminology in
French criminologie for the first time
IS CRIMINOLOGY A SCIENCE?
According to George Wilker, criminology cannot become a science because it has
not yet acquired universal validity.
Edwin H. Sutherland, the Dean of Modern Criminology, hoped that it will become a science in
the future since the causes of crimes are almost the same which may be biological,
environmental or combination of the two.
NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY
It is applied science because criminology as a body of knowledge has already
established universally accepted principles and concepts and these are used by other
field of study. (INSTRUMENTATION)
2. It is a social science because it studies crime as a social phenomenon. Crime is a
social problem which has a great impact to society.
3. It is dynamic because the concepts of criminology and their applications adapt to the
changing time.
4. It is nationalistic because the study of criminology takes into consideration the
history, the culture and the social norms and the laws of the country. Each country has
its own set of laws and crimes are defined by the laws of the country.
CRIME
- refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of public law (Phil. Law Dictionary).
- also refers to an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or
commanding it (Reyes 2006).
CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES
LEGAL CLASSIFICATIONS:
1. According to law violated
a. Felony – an act or omission punishable by law which is committed by means
of dolo (deceit) or culpa (fault) and punishable under the Revised Penal Code
b. Offense – an act or omission in violation of a special law
c. Infraction – an act or omission in violation of a city or municipal ordinance
intelligence
intent
b. By means of culpa or fault
- Felonies committed by means of culpa (fault)
4. According to plurality:
a. Simple Crime – is a single act constituting only one offense.
b. Complex Crime – single act constituting two or more grave felonies or an is a
necessary means for committing the other
5. According to gravity:
a. Grave felonies - are those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or
penalties which in any of their period are afflictive.
b. Less grave felonies - are those which the law punishes with penalties which in
their maximum period are correctional.
c. Light Felonies – infraction of laws for the commission of which the penalty of
arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or both is provided.
Primitive Tribes
punishment may be in the form of ostracism and expulsion
adultery may be punished by the aggrieved husband who may kill the adulterer and his
own offending wife
crime may be avenged by the victim himself or by the victim’s family
B) THE EARLY CODES
1) CODE OF HAMMURABI
- Hammurabi, the king of Babylon during the eighteenth century BC, is recognized as the
first codifier of laws
- it provides the first comprehensive view of the laws in the early days
- the Code was carved in stone - the “law of talion”, or the principle of “tit for tat”,(an eye for
an eye, tooth for a tooth) appears throughout the Code
- under the principle of the law of talion, the punishment should be the same as the harm
inflicted on the victim
2) THE HITTITES - the Hittites existed about two centuries after Hammurabi and
eventually conquered Babylon
4) LAWS OF SOLON - Solon was appointed archon and was given legislative powers - Solon
repealed all the laws of the Code of Drakon, except the law on homicide - Solon was one of
the first to see that a lawgiver had to make laws that applied equally to all citizens and also
saw that the law of punishment had to maintain proportionality to the crimes committed
5) ROME’S TWELVE TABLES - Roman law began with the Twelve Tables which were
written in the middle of the sixth century BC
the Twelve Tables were the foundation of all laws in Rome and written in tablets of bronze
the Twelve Tables were drafted by the Decemvirs, a body of men composed of patricians
CRIMINAL LAW - is that branch of public law which defines crimes treats of their nature
and provides for their punishment.
book that contains the Philippine Criminal Law and different special laws and decrees
which are penal in nature. It is called as RPC because the old penal code which took effect
in the country on July 14, 1887 and was in force until Dec. 31, 1931 was revised by the
Committee created by Administrative Order No. 94 of the Department of Justice, dated Oct.
18, 1927, composed of Anacleto Diaz as Chairman, Alex Reyes and Mariano de Joya as
members RPC was approved on Dec. 8, 1930 and took effect on January 1, 1932.
Principal Parts of the RPC It is composed of two books; book one which is composed of
Articles 1-113 and book two covering Articles 114-367. a. Articles 1-20 – principles
affecting criminal liability b. Articles 21-113 – penalties including criminal and civil liability
c. Articles 114-367 – felonies
Characteristics of the RPC
1. Generality – the law is applicable to all persons within the territory irrespective of sex,
race, nationality or civil status except:
a. Head of state
b. Foreign diplomats, ambassadors, who are duly accredited to our country c.
Foreign troops permitted to march within the territory
2. Territoriality
- the RPC is applicable to felonies committed within the Philippine territorial
jurisdiction.
a. Philippine archipelago
– all the islands that comprise the Philippines
b. Atmosphere water
– all bodies of water that connect all the islands such as bays, rivers and streams
c. Maritime zone
– the twelve (12) Nautical Mile limit beyond our shore measured at low tide
The Revised Penal Code shall be applicable to all cases committed outside the Philippine
territorial jurisdiction under the following circumstances:
a) should commit an offense while on Philippine ship or airship;
b) should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Island or
obligations and securities issued by the government of the Philippines;
c) while being a public officer or employee, should commit an offense in the exercise of
their functions’
d) should commit any of the crimes against national security and law of nations
3. Prospectivity - the provisions of the RPC cannot be applied if the act is not yet punishable
on the time the felony was committed. However, it may have a retroactive effect if it is
favorable to the accused who is not a habitual delinquent.
4. It is specific and definite. Criminal law must give a strict definition of a specific act
which constitutes an offense. Where there is doubt as to whether a definition embodied in
the Revised Penal Code applies to the accused or not, the judge is obligated to decide the
case in favor of the accused. Criminal law must be construed liberally in favor of the accused
and strictly against the state.
Enricco Ferri
- he focused his study on the influences of psychological factors and sociological
factors such as economics, on crimes.
- He believed that criminals could not be held morally responsible because they did not
choose to commit crimes, but rather were driven to commit crimes by conditions in their
lives.
Raffaelle Garofallo - He treated the roots of the criminals’ behavior not to physical
features but to their psychology equivalent, which he referred to as moral anomalies. - He
rejected the doctrine of freewill.
- Classified criminals as Murderers, Violent Criminals, Deficient Criminals, and Lascivious
Criminals.
2. Johann Kaspar Lavater - supported the belief of dela Porta - he believed that a person’s
character is revealed through his facial characteristics.
c. Phrenology, Craniology or Cranioscopy
– the study of the external formation of the skull in relation to the person’s
personality and tendencies toward criminal behavior.
- according to him, criminality is caused by the imbalance of the three (3) components of
personality:
id, ego, superego.
according to him there are three parts of personality:_
1. ID – this stands for instinctual drives; it is governed by the “pleasure principle”; the id
impulses are not social and must be repressed or adapted so that they may become socially
acceptable
2 EGO– this is considered to be the sensible and responsible part of an individual’s personality
and is governed by the “reality principle”; it is developed early in life and compensates for the
demands of the id by helping the individual guide his actions to remain within the boundaries
of accepted social behavior; it is the objective, rational part of the personality
a. Emile Durkheim - he stated that crime is a normal part of the society just like birth
and death. - proposed the concept of “anomie” or the absence of social norms. It is
characterized by disorder due to lack of common values shared by individuals, lack
of respect for authority and lack of appreciation for what is acceptable and not
acceptable in a society.
b. Gabriel Tarde
- introduced the theory of imitation which proposes the process by which people
become criminals.
- according to this theory, individuals imitate the behavior of other individuals
based on the degree of their association with other individuals and it is inferior or
weak who tend to imitate the superior and strong.